[veyron1]

well, i managed to get my hands on some spec sheets of these. i wanna know what youse think- is it worth the moolah being asked? personally, i would jump at the one single option mentioned -RWD. but at the price, well....you decide, and fire away...





personally, i think it just about cuts it. but as for me, if i had the money, i would do anything to get myself a RWD. what do you guys say?

[iraghava]

Well Veyron it's an interesting spec sheet. But seeing the quality of the Chinkara cars I have seen till date I don't think it will be up to the quality expectations. Also if the previous models which were made were Lotus 7 replicas and so had minimal bodywork and even then the quality was far from satisfactory. With a GT40 replica I am not sure what the result would be like.

Also I am not sure that how 205/60's would look in the wheelarch. My guess is it will look like a moped tyre has been mounted on.

But yes no doubt it is a tempting prospect.

[satish_appasani]

At that price, mag wheels are optional. Their website is not working. Are they waiting for their first customer to pay for the site?

I would spend my money on vRS and a few more mods.

[GTO]

Firstly what engine are they plonking? The only 2.7 liter V6 I know is the Sonatas Delta engine!

Second, If the build quality (or the lack) of the other Chinkara product is anything to go by, I would imagine they had the San Storm as a quality professor.

Finally - At 19.xx lacs ex-showroom, you are looking at about 23 lacs on the road in Mumbai. You got to be kidding me. If I want performance, the Octi RS it is.

Buttttttttttttttt it does look really neat.

GTO

[GTO]

Oh boy, they have cell phone numbers under the contact information. What are they selling? Marlboros?

So called the first cell phone number to schedule an appointment for a test drive (since my fiancee is away for 10 days, I have all the car time in the world) but she tells me that they have to build the first production car yet. I guess Satish is right - They are waiting for the first customer to pay for the website.

GTO

[veyron1]

yup, the engine IS from the sonata. but that's optional-you can plonk in an engine of your choice- like, say, for example...the 3.0 V6 manual by honda..which was what i had in mind...but EVEN then- do you think it would be worth it? at 22 lacs on-road thane, one could, in all probability, bring in a secondhand evo VII, or an FQ300/330. but, the questions to be thought are;

a) spare parts availability- at least with the home grown GT40, you'll get ready spares.
b) cost-to-performance ratio- at 820 kgs, if the damn car can do naught to 100 in 6.4 seconds with Korean horses, imagine what it can do with Japanese horses; or Czech horses- we're looking at 911 turbo performance at 1/5 th the cost.
3) nostalgia-need i say more?

NOW, perhaps you can understand one's predicament a little better....how about some technically and cost-wise analytic pointers?

[bigman]

What a rip off. All they are doing is assembling a kit car.

[autopsyche]

But shouldnt build quality be more important an issue than just sheer performance numbers on the spec sheet? A complete fiberglass car mounted on a space frame with a lot of power does need a lot of precision to hold. Im not saying chinkara havent/cant do it, im sure theyll take it into prospect but if u compare it to an RS in terms of cost, what handling are we talking about here? Is it gonna be even close? I guess itll be more like a wavy truck at 200kph+

Their stall at the recent auto expo was pretty close to us and just passing by i asked about the price of the caterham replicas with the ambassador engines... 11 lacs! i was like whoaaa!? wasnt it like 5-6 lacs just a couple of years ago (which again was on the higher side but atleast realistic) their prices straight away doubled suddenly which i thought was totally unjustified. So even with the cost of this GT40 replica im very very doubtful about the vfm provided.

[islero]

This is the problem all these small manufacturers face.


Ideally they should collaborate with some automotive giant which will help them fund their cars and build them better.

The exhorbitant price would defenitely be more convincing if the cars were built properly and didnt break down.


The idea is very good, and theres little wrong with a kit car if it looks accurate to a large extent and this looks pretty decent.

[veyron1]

okay, it seems most are not warming up to the homegrown GT. i can understand why. here's another doozie; comparitively, what if the current 3.0 V6 accord were to be given a manual tranny? aftermarket, of course. the final costs would work out to be approximately the same. what would be preferable then? like i said, the only thing that i find going in favour of the GT replica is-RWD. nothing else. but it's not something worth sacrificing head and heels for.

the way i see it; pros of GT40- RWD, straight-line performance, ease of running and looks.
cons; cornering COULD be an issue if the suspension isn't sorted out well (somehow mcpherson struts all round for a rear-biased weight distribution isn't going down well for me), plus quality and interiors do not scream value. and yes, definitely not an everyday car. the shell being fibreglass, dings can prove expensive, if any.

still, no DEFINITIVE solutions....or is there?

p.s- GTO, i almost forgot; there's the 2.7 V6 from suzuki, too...

[Aditya]

20 Lacs?
I'll go for option #2 in the poll. Had a ride in MadMonkey's tweaked RS on Saturday - it's got all the performance you'll ever need and much better quality.
If we talk about exclusivity, I'll get myself a used Jag XJ - unmatched exclusivity.

[veyron1]

@aditya; well, if you find xk's for 20 lacs each, i'm sure most bhpians would buy them EVEN IF they had to sell their houses. at least i might..

the key thing; COST-TO-EXCLUSIVITY ratio. and i ain't talking "DC" exclusivity- he doesn't do powertrains, and is exorbitant to the extreme.

like i said, let's talk about alternatives in the same price range.

[Aditya]

Originally Posted by veyron1

@aditya; well, if you find xk's for 20 lacs each, i'm sure most bhpians would buy them EVEN IF they had to sell their houses. at least i might..

XJ s and SEL s from the 80s are available for well under 20L. W124 s go for under 10L.

[Boom Shiva]

I'd go with a used Mitsubishi GTO TT for 11 lakhs and spend the rest on mods...push it to 600-700 hp or thereabouts. Should be fun.

[GTO]

NOW, perhaps you can understand one's predicament a little better....how about some technically and cost-wise analytic pointers?

Sure sure, I can understand why enthusiasts would like a car that "looks" like a Ford GT but is made by a manufacturer who would be better fit making shoes for alibaug instead. Dont ever judge a book by its cover. The specification sheet notwithstanding, an RS will leave it for dead in any situation. I dont know about you, but I couldnt care less about exclusivity when I am spending 20 lac rupees. All I want is quality engineering.

p.s- GTO, i almost forgot; there's the 2.7 V6 from suzuki, too...

I have confirmed it with the sales person. It is the Hyundai 2.7 in this contraption.

GTO